75/25 yay or nay?

[97guns]

i see alot of guys here saying its a waste of time to stack us nickels but just wondering what the real number might be.

[Rodebaugh]

nope...not yet

[aloneibreak]

i was on board with nickels for a while...

then i needed cash and it was either my silver, sorted copper or nickels

i chose the nickels

but that was the reason i was holding them i guess - an emergency fund that is at least real money

[TXBullion]

i was on board with nickels for a while...

then i needed cash and it was either my silver, sorted copper or nickels

i chose the nickels

but that was the reason i was holding them i guess - an emergency fund that is at least real money

I am at this point right now, I need some liquidity right now and I think I will cash in the boxes of nickels I have right now. Corsair made a great post the other day which swayed my position somewhat I have to admit. I started stacking but think I will cash in for now and just keep my spare change nickels. I would rather have it in Cu or Ag if its sitting. I also really like Canadian .999 Ni alot and like to have some too. I think ill try to sort these boxes before turning them in. Never sorted nickel but might be ok as I hear you guys occasionally find some silver and maybe i can get a buff!

[Corsair]

Thanks for the publicity, TXBullion. For reference, here is my post - and yes, I still feel the exact same way.

I've been on "the wrong side" of this argument since I joined Realcent. I have absolutely no intention to buy a brick of nickels to hoard any time soon. I know that some people on the forum (and those like Ponce who don't visit anymore) had or have thousands of FRNs tied up in nickels. It's great to think ahead, but I just don't feel it's the smartest bet. Let's look at it this way:

If you are on the forum, and you are dealing with decent amounts of coin, that means you have a pretty stable buy/dump set up with your banks. That means you can easily purchase pennies, sort them, and if you wanted to, sell them and make a little money. There have been plenty of formulas thrown around on the forum about how much profit you actually make selling Cu cents, but I think there is a consensus that you do make some money. So, assuming all of that, why in the world would you tie up $100 in nickels if you could turn that into $100 in copper cents that you could sell for $140?

Moreover, I remember reading a post by a member of the forum that had the foresight to go out and buy a few boxes of pennies in 1981 and 1982 when the Mint announced a composition change for the coins. Two important things to learn from this information:

1. Banks weren't run on, pennies were readily available. One theory here is that if the nickel goes to aluminum, you won't be able to get them. History shows that to be inaccurate. That member was easily able to pick up a few boxes for himself.
2. Even after nearly thirty years, there are still plenty of coins in circulation. Sure, you have to look for them, but I bet the sorting was much, much easier in the five to ten years that followed the composition change. Why tie up the funds now if you can get them readily when the time comes?

My bottom line. Unless you have a large amount of FRNs that are doing you no good in a checking or savings account, and you can't up the ante when it comes to copper sorting, don't buy nickels. Just don't do it. Flip copper. You'll be much better off

[commoncents]

I stack more pennies than nickels.

If I have to spend some of my horde, it would be the nickels. Converting them to paper money would be easier and less bulky that the same dollar value of pennies.

[slickeast]

If/when they change the composition, you can go load up on them before the new ones come out.

[Ethon]

If/when they change the composition, you can go load up on them before the new ones come out.

Thats how i feel, it just seems like sitting on nickels right now is some of my funds that could go to more productive things like pennies .

[TwoPenniesEarned]

The biggest argument for keeping nickels is as a safety net in case something bad happens quickly and you can't go load up on them.

Tonight I ran a box of pennies and a box of nickels through the Ryedale. I'm Canadian, BTW, so this is more for the Canadians in the crowd:

From the penny box I captured 26% coppers for $6.50 FV in copper. At today's coinflation rates, this copper is worth $15.60 in melt value. (this assumes older heavier pennies at 20%)

From the nickel box I captured 25% CuNi and 6% Ni for a total $31.00 FV. At today's conflation rates this haul is worth $12.10.

At 6% Ni, clearly the penny is the better bet. Financially, the nickel box equals the Cu box at 9% Ni...but this profit requires a much larger investment of $31 FV vs $6.50 FV in copper....so even here the ROI for the copper investment is vastly superior.

If you want to sock as much as you can into precious metals in a short time frame, diversify into nickels. If not, stay in pennies. With the penny being eliminated, it is all the more of a reason to stay focused on pennies for now...at least in Canada.

In the US, if you have $100 that you don't have the time to spend on unsorted copper, I'd put that money in nickels. Buying a box of nickels is one of the easiest ways I can think of to make $20 with no work.

[exbingoaddict]

Corsair can be my spokesman any day on nickels. If nickels are your thing, then brick em up. Personally, I just don't see enough value created by stacking them.

And while we're taking polls, put me down as a nay on adding two games to the NFL season. Keep it at 16 games.

[MikeP2020]

I only keep a few boxes of nickels around in the off chance that the nickel is discontinued abruptly as some point. They might decide to eliminate the penny and nickel instead of changing the composition, its possible, I wouldn't bet on having the ability to stack nickel boxes when the time comes.

[coppernickel]

If you say nay, just try to get a box. The banks are really cracking down. I haven't been able to to get any for a while.

[Corsair]

If you say nay, just try to get a box. The banks are really cracking down. I haven't been able to to get any for a while.

Then this might be a good time to start putting back whatever you can get. The original poster in the other thread made it seem like his dump/buy bank set up was working out just fine. If that's the case, or if you have a good number of banks around your area, I'd stick with the Corsair Plan.

[exbingoaddict]

If you say nay, just try to get a box. The banks are really cracking down. I haven't been able to to get any for a while.

Can you blame them? Trading out nickels is not a profitable activity for banks in and of itself.

[999Ni]

NAY

999 fine only

[AdamsSamoa]

I like to sort them and stack them.... I only do 10 dollars at a time. but they add up prettty quick.

[GA-Silver]

I only save the ones I get in change throughout the day. I can't really afford to stack back boxes of nickels.

[Rosco]

I only save the ones I get in change throughout the day. I can't really afford to stack back boxes of nickels.

I agree I'm saving to buy Silver

but i do save the change

[Mooski]

I don't spend nickels or copper pennies.

All my 'spendable' coins go in my left pocket, and the nickels and Cu Pennies into the right pocket for later.

When I stop at the bank, I buy all the CWR pennies and nickels. After the New Year, I plan on buying a LOT of nickels and stacking them in the garage next to my piles of Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper.

Sure, I'd LIKE to go through the nickels looking for silver, .999 Cu, or Buffaloes, but I'd just be able to have time to sleep between shifts at work...

Count me in as a yay for nickels and a nay on the 18 game schedule. (Can the Vikings season end any sooner?)

[Tommybee]

I stack 'em. I've got 17 $100 bricks at the moment. Whether nickels "disappear" from circulation after the inevitable composition change depends upon how much metal value they have. If copper and nickel increase in price enough to make today's nickels worth 10x face they will disappear in an instant. If the metal value stays at 2-3x face they'll just slowly disappear.....like pre-1982 cents have.

Merry Christmas!

[Hawkeye]

While I don't exactly have enough cash to stack much of anything, I do pick up a couple of rolls about every week when I'm getting my pennies.

[AGCoinHunter]

I find it hard to stack them cause I feel the urge to search them for the goodies. Other than the wars, buff and V's the only common ones I keep are pre-1960. Everything else goes back to the coin machine.

[CardsNCoins]

........the only common ones I keep are pre-1960..........

Please help me out as I am new to nickels. Is there any reason for the 1959 cutoff point, or is it just a personal preference?

Thanks, Nick

[Corsair]

........the only common ones I keep are pre-1960..........

Please help me out as I am new to nickels. Is there any reason for the 1959 cutoff point, or is it just a personal preference?

Thanks, Nick

I do the same thing, only mine are 1958 and before. Right around that time, there is a drop off in mintage. I figure that I could stack some of those for numismatic value, and if nothing else, I'll always have the nickel.

[999Ni]

CardsNCoins,

I do the same. I think of pre-1960 nicks as like wheat pennies. They have numismatic collector value and are worth more than face for that reason.